Teaching Languages : English, German
Hamburg-born violinist and conductor Philip A.
Draganov has captivated audiences across Europe, Asia, and the United
States with what the Hamburger Abendblatt praised as his “impulsive
virtuosity and exuberant musical power.” He made his solo debut at the
age of twelve with the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra at the Laeiszhalle Hamburg
and has since pursued a multifaceted international career.
Draganov has appeared as a soloist with major
orchestras and has performed in many of the world’s leading venues, including
Carnegie Hall in New York, the Tonhalle Zürich, the National Centre for the
Performing Arts in Beijing, the Kölner Philharmonie, the Laeiszhalle Hamburg,
the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, and the Alte Oper Frankfurt. He has also been
featured at prestigious festivals such as the Aspen Music Festival (USA) and
the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival.
His wide-ranging experience includes solo appearances with renowned orchestras,
recitals, chamber music performances, and engagements as concertmaster of
distinguished ensembles. Over the years, he has collaborated with eminent
conductors such as Günter Wand, Herbert Blomstedt, Bernard Haitink, Christoph
von Dohnányi, Michael Tilson Thomas, Christoph Eschenbach, Alan Gilbert, Sir
Roger Norrington, and Kent Nagano.
Philip A. Draganov has received wide acclaim for his
recordings. His most recent release, The Violin Battle, was
distributed by Sony Music in Europe and by Naxos worldwide. His scholarly
edition of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto was published by Gilgenreiner Verlag
in Switzerland.
Draganov is Professor of Violin at the Bern University
of the Arts (HKB) and also teaches at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK).
He is the Artistic Director of the Swiss International Music Academy (SIMA),
which annually welcomes around 100 students from all over the world to study
with leading international artists. In addition, he gives masterclasses
throughout Europe and Asia, serves on juries at international competitions, and
is a board member of the European String Teachers’ Association.
Among his current and former students are
concertmasters and members of leading European orchestras, including the Berlin
Symphony Orchestra (DSO), the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (RSB), and the
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. His students have also been
prizewinners at numerous international competitions, such as the Tibor Varga
Violin Competition (Sion, Switzerland), the Fritz Kreisler Competition (Vienna,
Austria), the International Marschner Competition (Germany), the Michael Hill
International Violin Competition (New Zealand), the Concorso Violinistico
Internazionale Andrea Postacchini (Fermo, Italy), the International Berlin
Music Competition, and the Louis Spohr International Competition for Young
Violinists (Weimar, Germany).
Philip A. Draganov performs on a violin by Stradivari
pupil Tomaso Balestrieri (1769), while also enjoying the artistry of modern
instruments crafted by Stephan von Baehr (Paris/Hamburg) and Stefan-Peter
Greiner (London/Zurich).
He lives near Zurich with his wife, a pianist, and
their two children.
Further information is available at www.draganov.ch.
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